AN ENCYCLOPADIA OF HORTICULTURE. 
481 
Olea—continued. 
O. verrucosa (warted). fl. in axillary panicles, scarcely 
shorter than the leaves. April. jr. sub-globose. 7. linear- 
lanceolate, su ssile, attenuated at both ends, callous-apicu- 
oe entire, glabrous above, scaly beneath. Cape of Good Hope, 
OLEACEZ. An order of erect or climbing shrubs 
or trees, inhabiting the temperate and warmer regions 
of the globe. Flowers hermaphrodite, rarely dicecious 
or polygamous, regular; calyx campanulate, four or 
many-toothed or lobed, rarely none; corolla gamo- 
petalous, salver or funnel-shaped, or campanulate; lobes 
or petals four, rarely five or six, sometimes absent; in- 
florescence sometimes centrifugal, dichotomously cymose, 
sometimes trichotomously paniculate, mostly or totally 
centripetal, or the branchlets ultimately centrifugal- 
cymose; panicles, or cymes, loose, or in contracted fas- 
cicles, axillary or terminal. Fruit indehiscent, or a loculi- 
cidal capsule, a berry, or a drupe. Leaves opposite, rarely 
alternate or whorled, simple or pinnately three or few- 
foliolate, entire or toothed; stipules none. Olive oil is 
expressed from the pericarp of the drupe of Olea 
europea, and the unripe drupe, macerated in brine, is 
eaten. Ash-wood (Frawinus) is invaluable for its light- 
ness, flexibility, and strength; and a sugary juice, 
is produced by F. Ornus and some other 
species ; while the bark of the common Ash (F. excelsior) 
has been proposed as a substitute for quinine. The 
order contains eighteen genera and about 280 species. 
_ Illustrative genera are: Fravinus, Jasminum, Olea, and 
Syringa. 
OLEANDER. See Nerium Oleander. 
P OLEANDRA (from Oleander, which plant O. nerii- 
formis is thought to resemble). ORD. Filices. A 
small genus (about half-a-dozen species) of stove ferns, 
almost restricted to the tropics. They are distinguished 
from Nephrodium mainly in habit, with wide-creeping, 
scandent shoots, jointed stems, and entire, lanceolate- 
elliptical fronds. Sori round, inserted in a row near 
the base, or below the centre of the compact, free vein- 
lets; involucre reniform. The species in cultivation 
may be used for pillar plants. A wire cylinder should 
be made around the pillar, and filled up with fibrous 
peat and sphagnum. The creeping rhizomes should then 
be laid over the surface, and fastened by means of small 
wire or wooden pegs. Large pots or pans may also be 
utilised, on which to build fibry peat in the shape of a 
cone or ball, covering the surface with rhizomes in the 
same way. Thus treated, specimens of almost any size 
may be, in course of time, obtained. For general cul- 
ture, see Ferns. 
articulata (jointed).* shoots firm, sub-erect, wide-climbing, 
gs sit mcatsored, scmetimes opposite, but not whorled, lin. 
to 2in. long, with the joint close to the base. fronds bin. to 12in. 
long, l}in. to 2in. broad. sori in two irregular rows, often some 
distance from the midrib. Natal, Mascarene Islands, &c. 
evergreen species. ; 
O. hirtella (slightly hairy). A form of O. neriiformis. 
O. muszefolia (Musa-leaved). shoots firm, wide-climbing, clothed 
with adpressed scales. sti. din. to lin. long, jointed close to the 
base. fronds 6in. to 12in. long, lin. to Izin. broad, narrowed 
gradually towards both ends. sori in two irregular rows near 
the midrib; involucre oblique. Ceylon and Malayan Te 
O. neriiformis (Oleander-like).* shoots woody, sub-erect, scaly. 
sti. zin. to lin. in with the int just below the middle. fronds 
bin. to 18in. long, Zin. to 1 broad, scattered, or in opposite 
irs, or often in terminal whorls, narrowed gradually towards 
Both ends. sori in two rather irregular rows, near the midrib; 
involucre oblique. Tropics. A very handsome species, of which 
O. hirtella is merely a form. 
O. nodosa (knotty).* shoots trailing horizontally, densely clothed 
with linear-subulate, spreading scales. sti. scattered, 2in. to 
Ein. long, often ebeneous, articulated not far from the base. 
fronds bin. to 12in. long, l}in. to 24in. broad, the apex acuminate, 
the edge entire. soriscattered, placed nearly all in the inner half 
of the frond ; involucre one-third of a line broad. West Indies, 
Kc. A beautiful, free-growing species, distinguished from all the 
Sa T E r 
r 
A fine, 
Oleandra—continued. ` 
». Wallichii (Wallich’s). shoots trailing horizontally; scales 
Appt Sil nous. sti. close or scattered, zin. to 2in. long, 
jointed close to the base. fronds bin. to 12in. long, zin. to 14in. 
road, the apex acuminate ; rachis naked or scaly. sort in single 
rows c to the midrib ; involucre ciliated. North India (up to 
-7 7000ft. altitude). 
OLEARIA (from Olea, an Olive-tree; in allusion to 
the resemblance to that tree existing in some of the 
species). Syn. Eurybia, Orp. Composite. A large 
genus of greenhouse or hardy shrubs, sometimes arbo- 
rescent, sub-shrubs, or rarely branched herbs. Eighty- 
five species have been described; of these, sixty-three are 
Australian, and the rest natives of New Zealand and the 
adjacent islands. Flower-heads rather large, mediocre 
or small, solitary, corymbose or paniculate; ray-florets 
white or blue; disk yellow, or rarely bluish-purple ;. in- 
volucre ovoid, campanulate, or sub-hemispherical ; recep- 
tacle flat or slightly convex, foveolate. Leaves alter- 
nate or rarely opposite, penniveined or one-nerved, entire 
or dentate. Olearias make excellent plants for the cool 
conservatory—where they thrive best when planted out 
—or for clothing dwarf walls, Ke. Some of them—0O. 
Haastii, for instance—make beautiful bushes in the open 
shrubbery border, and are quite hardy in most places. 
The species are readily propagated by means of half- 
ripened young shoots, inserted in sandy soil, under a bell 
glass, and shaded. They succeed in almost any soil. 
Probably the species here described are the only ones 
yet introduced. 
O. dentata (toothed).* A. heads rosy- white, about 1}in. in diameter, 
in terminal, erect or spreading corymbs, Spring. J. petioled, 
very variable, l4in. to 2in. long, elliptic-ovate or cordate-ovate, 
obtuse, crenated. Australia. Nearly bard shrub, with branches, 
88720 (beneath), and inflorescence y tomentose. (B. M. 
O. Forsteri (Forster’s). fl.-heads white, fascicled, and sessile on 
the branches of the panicle; corymbs longer than the leaves, 
many-headed. Summer. l. Ein. to Sin. long, oblong, obtuse ; 
margins undulated; both surfaces reticulated, lower white with 
down; petioles jin. to lin. long. New Zealand, 1866. A small, 
hardy tree. 
O. furfuracea (scurfy). .-heads zin. in diameter, numerous, in 
large, branched, loose, spreading corymbs. J. 14in. to 2hin. broad, 
ovate-oblong, obtuse, waved, rarely sinuate-toothed, rounded and 
unequal at base, reticulated above ; 8 zin. to lin. long. 
ee terete, velvety. k. 10ft. to 15 ft. New Zealand. Hardy 
ree, 
Fic. 726. OLEARIA GUNNIANA, showing Flowering Branch; 
(1) Branchlet, and (2) Flower-head. 
O. Gunniana (Gunn's).“ #.-heads white, borne in great profusion, 
about jin. in diameter. September. J. oblanceolate, coarsely 
toothed, and hoary on the under surface. Branches hoary. h, 3ft. 
30 
